Actor Michael Whalley talks importance of improv in acclaimed film ‘Psychoanalysis’
Michael Whalley has many passions in life. He is an athlete, and played both state soccer and softball, and was even the MVP in his summer softball league this year. He rides a Yamaha Majesty 250 motorbike, and wouldn’t trade it for anything. However, there is one thing that he loves more than anything else: acting. This enthusiasm drives Whalley in everything he does, and has made him one of the leaders of his industry in his home country of New Zealand. When one watches Whalley on the big screen, there is little doubt as to why he is such a sought-after actor, and what is truly special, is there is nothing else this seasoned actor would rather be doing.
Having worked on several esteemed films and television productions, success seems to follow Whalley wherever he goes. Just this year, he starred in the hit TV movie Jean, taking audiences back in time to tell the story of one of New Zealand’s most beloved heroines. He has worked with some of Hollywood’s biggest stars, and in the film Slow West, he co-stars with two-time Academy Award nominee Michael Fassbender as well as Emmy-award winner Ben Mendelsohn. Such success doesn’t faze Whalley, however; he just remains focused on each project as it comes.
“In general, I strive to tell the truth in imaginary circumstances. More specifically, I aim to bring characters to life from page to stage or screen by finding out how I am most like and unlike the character I am playing, to give myself the maximum awareness on just whose boots I am about to fill. I work to find the most fun I can as well, for myself as well as the people I am working with, since joy and fun is the reason I got into the game in the first place. In most cases, someone has written a character and requires my service to bring it to life. That is someone else’s life and work, and it’s my duty to take that seriously,” he said.
Whalley more than lives up to this duty with his work in the feature film Psychoanalysis. The film is a look into the life of a psychologist who loses five clients to suicide in a one week period and then becomes obsessed with the idea that they were murdered by a rival psych. The film premiered late last year at the Manchester International Film Festival and was soon picked up by Candy Factory films for international distribution. It then won “Best Foreign Feature” at the Big Island Film Festival, “Best Comedy” at the Canada International Film Festival and Melbourne Underground Film Festival, “Best International Film” at the Manchester International Film Festival, and “Best of Fest” at the Victoria TX Indie Film Fest, among others. Moreover, the film earned Official Selections at distinguished festivals that include the Palm Beach International Film Festival, the International Film Awards Berlin, the Silver Springs International Film Festival, the NYC Independent Film Festival, and the Yes Film Festival, to name a few. When watching the film, one can easily deduce that Whalley’s portrayal of his character helped the film achieve what it did.
“I am still captivated by what Mike did with the character; he transformed what was on the page into a living breathing, three-dimensional person, switching between comedy and drama with deft accuracy,” said Tony Prescott, the film’s producer.
Whalley played the role of Ryan Pilgrim in the film, who had struck up too close a need and friendship for Paul, his psychiatrist. This psychiatrist was being assessed by the health department, and Ryan was the one client who was still alive and seemingly doing well. In the film, Paul has to both cling on to Ryan and hide him — he was proof that he was not committing malpractice with his clients, that they were alive and well, but also the nature of their close relationship was more proof that his methods were dodgy. Ryan becomes his soldier of sorts, to help him solve the mysteries of his dying patients, and the mission gives Ryan purpose in his depression. Ryan is very much a man-child. Things have happened in his past that slammed the brakes on his passage into adulthood. He is very dependent on other adult men to show him how to live his life, and with their absence he turns to other methods of physical and emotional protection to keep himself safe and alert. Not without ambition, though, and with the opportunity to assist in a private investigation he goes all-in, too far in with his enthusiasm for the case. Needless to say, the role required a talented actor to pull off such a complicated and vital character.
“Michael’s ability to play comedy and drama within the same role is unmatched. There is an honesty to his performances that has you belly-laughing one moment and crying the next,” said James Raue, Director and Writer of Psychoanalysis.
When Raue was looking for an actor for the role of Ryan, he knew he needed someone that excelled at improvisation. He immediately thought of Whalley. Whalley is highly accomplished at improv, which many actors do not attempt. It is difficult and risky to pull off, and requires great chemistry between the actors in a scene to go with each other’s ideas. It takes many takes falling apart until one finally comes together.
“When you hit a scene where you strike gold, and when an improv comes together between actors, it really feels like an extraordinary moment, an energy that’s humming in the air. Chasing that moment on an improv set is really the goal, and why artists gravitate to it. You can create moments that are so special, so imaginative and in the moment, they could never be scripted or rehearsed,” Whalley described.
There were many long form improvs on set, with the camera rolling for around 10 minutes of Whalley’s character using outdoor children’s play-equipment as his personal gym. The character took his training very seriously, and the camera followed him as he trained Marine-style on slides, monkey-bars etc. Those long improvs were the key to developing his language and personality, his child-like openness and psychological instability, and Whalley excelled at both the physical and mental strain that this required.
“The improv style is a real adrenaline junky type of work. It’s on the edge, dangerous, not over-prepared, but deeply armed with all of the character’s feeling and attributes. Also, every part of the character is built from the writer/director and my imagination, his and my life, and it’s thrilling to create every fiber of a character collaboratively like that,” he added.
With the added element of improvisation, Psychoanalysis is a can’t miss. Whalley is enthralling as Ryan, and it allows us to see a different side of the versatile actor.
What’s next for Whalley? His upcoming film The Pretend One comes out next year, in which he plays an imaginary friend that has lasted far beyond childhood. His performance is once again expected to captivate both audiences and critics. In the meantime, however, check out Psychoanalysis.
